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“Fast and Furious” whistleblower Special Agent John Dodson is set to release his book, “The Unarmed Truth,” in January, but earlier this month was told that federal regulations that prohibit agents from profiting off their work as employees while still employees would prevent him from publishing.

The ACLU, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) all sent letters to ATF on his behalf, criticizing the agency’s decision and questioning whether Dodson’s free speech rights were violated. The agency at the time said it was not a First Amendment decision, but rather one solely made on the question of profit.

In a letter this week from ATF to the ACLU obtained by POLITICO, the agency said it has no objection to Dodson publishing now that a review of the material in the manuscript has been completed.

“ATF does not object to the publication of Special Agent Dodson’s book, once it has been scrubbed of any information that would be law enforcement sensitive or restricted from dissemination. … We have identified certain places in the manuscript that meet those criteria, and we intend to convey those to you early next week,” Department of Justice senior counsel Charles Gross writes in the letter, which is dated Oct. 15.

ATF said it would share the objectionable portions of the book with the ACLU and Dodson in a separate communication and asked the group to keep them private.

Still under review, the letter said, is the question of whether Dodson can profit.

Department of Justice regulations state: “A subject is prohibited from writing about issues that arise from his or her duties as a special agent and profiting from his or her experiences while still acting in the special agent capacity.”

While ATF initially said the rule prohibited Dodson from publishing, it told the ACLU that it would reconsider that decision and refer it to the department’s ethics office to determine, pending the government reopening.

The law enforcement official offered no timeline on that decision now that the government shutdown has ended, but the letter said a decision was expected “shortly thereafter”.

ACLU called the ATF’s move encouraging.

“We’re heartened that the ATF has acknowledged Agent Dodson’s right to publish his account of the events surrounding Operation Fast and Furious. We’re now working with the Justice Department and ATF, and we’re hopeful we can come to a resolution that lets the public hear Agent Dodson’s voice and his story,” ACLU attorney Lee Rowland said.